I met Ben online! Anyone who knows me a smidgen, understands that anything with technology rarely goes well, but on January 7th that (momentarily) changed. I had been on the site for less than 24 hours and after several winks and “Hey girl!” comments, I was beginning to think I had made a mistake. I logged on for what I thought would be the last time only to receive an intelligible and somewhat lengthy message from a cute guy named Ben. We immediately hit it off and found out that we had many shared interests including our Faith, love of our families, backgrounds in sports, and very active lifestyles. Our messages back and forth became longer and longer until finally Ben took the first move and asked if I would like to go out on a date. Our first date was January 10th at Deja Brew, a coffee and teahouse in Warrenton, VA. I vividly remember praying, “I hate first dates. God, please let this be my last first date!” Ben arrived to Deja Brew first and while he waited for me to arrive wondered to himself if his future wife would be walking through those doors shortly. As soon as I did, he thought to himself, “Self, don’t screw this up!” We ordered two teas and began to talk. We talked and talked and talked some more. Before we realized it the hours had flew past and Ben was going to be late to his evening choir practice. In two weeks time we were “official”, which probably would have happened sooner if I hadn’t spent the week after the first date on vacation in New Mexico. By the end of the month, Ben had told me that he loved me and the feeling was mutual (more on that later). - Retie “I have found the one whom my soul loves.” Song of Solomon 3:4

It did not take long for Retie and I to figure out that we were right for each other. We have common interests, family values, and faith. We talked frequently about our future and getting married. I asked her when she would like to get engaged. She responded sometime in April or May. Being the procrastinator that I am, my mind immediately shot to April 1st, which happened also to be Easter this year. Then Retie said, “But not April Fools Day.” Rats -- there went my plan. So I settled on April 4th instead. Coming up with a plan was next. I knew how much Retie loves hiking in Shenandoah, so that was an obvious choice. I also know how much her family means to her, so if I could find a way to involve them, that would be ideal. I slyly convinced her to send me a list of her favorite hikes. After a lot of research, I found Dark Hollow Falls/Rose River Loop, an out and back combined with a loop. This was perfect: Retie and I could leave and then not long after her family could hit the trail and surprise her at the end of the out and back, which conveniently had a picturesque waterfall. So I had a plan. In the middle of March Retie let slip that she would be alright with us getting engaged on Easter. Alright! April 1st is back! -Ben

Fast forward to Easter: I woke Retie up really early for a sunrise Easter service. I brought her her morning coffee and told her I love her; she grumbled back, “the feeling may be mutual.” To which I thought, “well this is how today’s going to go…” Turns out she didn’t sleep well and was a little crabby. We then went to church with Retie’s family and then went to her parents house for an Easter brunch. While her mom prepared brunch, Retie took the third nap of her life. When I woke her up the second time, I was greeted with a smile and an I love you, so things were back on track. We ate brunch and headed to Shenandoah. We were just finishing the loop when Retie squinted into the distance, thought she saw someone she recognized, and turned to me to ask, “Ben, do you have a question for me?” She had spotted her folks and immediately knew what was up. We walked up to the waterfall where I got the ring out of my pocket, got down on one knee, and asked her if she would marry me. The words were barely out of my mouth, when she exhaled, “Of course!” and took the ring right out of my hand and put it on her finger. The whole whole hike back to our cars was marked by sighs of relief from me and “so pretty”s from Retie. Success! - Ben